A/N: Ella and Wade were not supposed to be in this story, but now they have become an integral part of it. That's the funny thing about sharing fanfiction and receiving comments, minor changes can have a butterfly effect.
Wade wept the evening he met the Duke. It should have been an evening full of thrills and surprises, and it certainly had been, but not in the happy way he had anticipated when they had left the hotel en route to the Cirque d'Hiver. He had been particularly excited to see Leótard, the acrobat, after hearing his mother and Camille laughing about him but not fully understanding the reason why.
Yet, it was true that looking back, there had been reasons to worry even before that night.
At first, Wade hadn't been anxious about the divorce because it didn't seem to change his situation that much. He had been used to Rhett's mysterious, very long absences during the marriage. So, once he had reassured him that they would still see each other, probably for even more extended periods if Scarlett agreed to it, he hadn't found any other reason for concern. Wade hadn't suspected then that his mother would leave instead. He had felt her absence deeply because, even if he knew he annoyed her and he couldn't entertain her as he used to entertain dear Aunt Melly, he still loved Scarlett with all his little, constant heart. He had feared during her prolonged absence that he would never see her again and had been overjoyed when his father had proposed Ella and him join her in Paris.
That voyage seemed to combine everything that was dear to Wade: an adventure with Rhett, maybe for many months! To see his mother's face again, even if she was still frowning as much as she did before her departure. To walk on all those places where the greatest battles had taken place. It was a wonderful perspective that couldn't be tarnished even by Ella's clingy presence. Rhett had been as fast to act as usual, and they had found themselves crossing the ocean in an unreasonably short amount of time after the child had first heard about the plan, and even then, he had found the waiting too long for such a dear project.
Life hadn't been kind to Wade Hamilton. He had never known his father, and memories of the war still lingered in his mind, horrifying and confusing, as he hadn't been old enough to grasp what was happening. Even harsher times had come after, where he had known hunger and better understood the reasons why he should be scared. He had known himself then to be an unwanted load on his mother's back and had only found some crumbs of love and happiness in Aunt Melly's sweet embrace until she had also died.
During all those traumatic changes, Rhett Butler's presence had had a positive, stabilizing effect on Wade's life. Only Rhett had offered him a direct reassurance of his love, which Scarlett would have found an embarrassing concession to sentimentality at the time. Rhett was far more affectionate than his mother, which had always puzzled the child, as all the other prominent men in his life, like Ella's father, had shared Scarlett's point of view.
Wade knew Mother and Rhett were very different, and that maybe because of that, they didn't get along well. In Paris, he noticed that the tension between them was still present, but that they never really argued now. He thought that's what a divorce must really mean: they didn't try to understand each other anymore; the connection was broken. It was concerning, but as long as Rhett was there, Wade was convinced that everything would work out in the end.
At first, he hadn't been surprised by the Duke's presence. He had other more pressing matters to think about, like the animals, the acrobats, the rings of fire, and the strongman that they were just about to see. His mother seemed to have a lot of new acquaintances nowadays, most of them painters. They were creating some kind of secret society. Wade had heard about it, and his curiosity was so big that he had even asked Ella about it. But of course, she had no idea what he was talking about.
Scarlett had taken his hand to help him reach his seat in their row at the circus, and Wade had been both embarrassed and touched by that attention. He was not a baby; he was almost twelve, but he had been so starved by his mother's touch that he hadn't complained.
However, he hadn't expressed any gratitude either. In his mother's presence, he felt himself again as confused as when he was a toddler. As surprised by Scarlett's unexpected displays of affection as he had been then by her displeasure. He hadn't changed as far as he knew, so why did Mother seem to be so pleased by everything he did now? She was a lot more interested in what he thought and what he felt, and Wade didn't know what to do with so much attention where there had been none before.
He had been soon too engrossed by the acts to think about those complicated feelings. There had already been a medieval joust, 14 domed Russian wolves, and a comical interlude he hadn't really cared for. An écuyère came then to the central scene. She was very young and very slender, she wore a tutu, and gracefully moved her hands to the rhythm of the music. At the signal of the band, she rode her horse at a gallop and stood on it, to Wade's amazement. That was only the start though. She hopped through rings, cartwheeled, took a rose offered from one of the front-row seats barely hanging onto her horse from one leg. He had never seen such a thrilling spectacle before, and he turned his head toward his mother to thank her.
His mother was applauding, enraptured. She looked so beautiful that night, and so young. He really thought no other lady could compare. He had seen her dressing up like that for special events before, the result of hours of careful preparation until she felt ready for "le regard du Tout-Paris," as she liked to say. When he asked Rhett what she could have meant, he had just chuckled and refused to explain.
That was when he had noticed the Duke, who was sitting not that far from them, also looking at her. His mother must have felt under his intense gaze too because she had turned toward the aristocrat with a raised brow, still smiling. It was brief; both of them had turned their attention toward the scene almost immediately after that fleeting exchange.
Wade had suddenly forgotten about Leótard. He had seen that look in the Duke's eyes before. It was the same way Uncle Rhett had looked at his mother sometimes, without her noticing, before their marriage. He understood too well what could follow, and it broke his heart that it could mean losing Rhett too.
He had turned toward his seat, next to Ella, but Rhett was no longer there. He had heard some disparaging comments and even some swearing lately from him when talking about horses, probably because he had lost a lot of money gambling. Maybe it was a lucky coincidence that he had taken advantage of the act to smoke.
In any case, the rest of the evening had been ruined. He had found himself incapable of following the spectacle, his gaze turning alternately toward the scene, his mother, and the Duke, so frequently that she had ended up asking with a concerned expression if he was feeling unwell.
He had, but his Mother had enjoyed the previous acts so much that he couldn't bring himself to ask her or Rhett to leave for fear of being considered inconvenient. He had remained in his seat, looking in front of him without really looking, immersed in increasingly unsettling thoughts. Ella knew better than to try to console him, but she had put her little hand on his knee, and he didn't seem to care or notice.
Rhett noticed though, and asked him what had happened once they were back in their room. It was very embarrassing for Wade to explain it all, but at least Ella wasn't present. She had been sharing Scarlett's room since their arrival at the Grand Hotel one month before.
His explanation was very unclear, especially because he started crying in the middle of it. He felt ashamed of his tears; he was acting like a little boy again. But Rhett kept listening to him patiently and nodded at the end, as if he had completely understood what he had seen and what he was feeling.
The only father he had ever known put a hand on his shoulder.
"There are changes in life we need to accept, Wade. They make us wiser, stronger. When your mother and I divorced, we all knew this would eventually happen. She has never known how to remain unmarried for long."
There was humor in his tone, but his voice had a rasping quality. His breath smelled of alcohol. It wasn't anything unusual by any means, and Wade was very proud of how Rhett could hold his liquor, but although there was no slurring or any other obvious sign, he wondered if Rhett was drunk.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, and Rhett thought that it was the end of the conversation, and it was for the better because they both needed a good night of sleep. But Wade met his eye again.
"But I love you. I want you to be my father," he pleaded.
Those were Charles' same almond eyes. The same gentleness, the same earnestness.
After a while, Rhett laughed to Wade's bewilderment. It was a very weird laugh. He couldn't decide if Rhett was happy or sad. But then he hugged him, and Wade felt safe and loved again.
"No, Wade, I'm not much of a father figure. I must be the damndest fool alive." Rhett's voice was trembling. Wade thought that he was crying and using the hug to hide it. He had definitely drunk too much. But with a much firmer voice, he added, "But Charles Hamilton was a good man, a brave man. He loved your mother honestly, and that's why you are here. The war took him from you, but never forget that lesson. I won't forget it from now on either."